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'Super-fit' squash player dies in his sleep at 22
Rashid Razaq27 Jan 2009
A super-fit squash champion died in his sleep hours after celebrating his 22nd birthday, an inquest heard today.
Sportsman Neil Desai, a law student who was recruited for internships with four of London's leading law firms, was on holiday in Spain with his girlfriend when he died.
Mr Desai was ranked in the top 300 squash players in the world and was also a talented cricketer who had been mentioned in the Wisden almanac.
Today a coroner ruled he had died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and recorded a verdict of natural causes.
Mr Desai's brother Samir, 25, described his death as a "freak tragedy".
Westminster coroner's court heard Mr Desai, from New Malden, Surrey, had not been drinking on the night of his death and did not take drugs.
He had been a pupil at Tiffin School for Boys in Surrey before securing a place to read law at Nottingham. He had just finished his second year there when he and his 21-year-old girlfriend Emma Hine flew to Malaga last September.
On the night of his death, the pair went back to their hotel following dinner, the inquest heard. Ms Hine was woken by Mr Desai "crying out". She thought he was having a nightmare but minutes later he stopped breathing and, despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the hotel.
Reader views (4)
This is so sad. I had never heard of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome - very frightening.
- Dee, London, 29/01/2009 11:05
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Without wanting to seem cold, but has anyone actually thouht about why this happens? Perhaps it's genetic, but then again, perhaps it's because a body has been pushed over it's own limit just once too often. Like a car engine, if it runs beyond it's capabilities for a period of time, a vital component will be prone to sudden seizure. The human body is the same.
- Jock, London, 28/01/2009 02:03
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What a dreadfull thing to happen. His poor girlfriend and family must be deveastated. I am so sorry.
- Sylvia, Epping. Essex, 27/01/2009 20:41
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I am so very sorry for this family. Please have a look at the CRY website, a charity that supports families affected by Sudden Adult Death. Anyone reading this, if you have had a family member die young (sometimes explained away as 'a fit') please, please ask questions and get yourself checked out.
- Cc, London, uk, 27/01/2009 18:57
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